Playing Defense in FBPro

Introduction

This tutorial will provide a very elementary introduction to designing defensive plays and packages for FBPro '98. The first section, Understanding and implementing defensive logic, covers the specifics of what the different choices in logic for defensive players will make your players do on the field. Plus, there is my interpretation of the pluses and minuses of the different types of logic. I'm sure there are differing interpretations out there, and you can feel free to share them if you like. Some of this information is also available in the FBPro manual. If you've lost (or never had) the manual, pressing F1 will open a help file that is essentially an online version of the manual.

The second section, Creating defensive packages, covers the basics of setting up a defensive package.

Understanding and implementing defensive logic

Pursuit is…

Conservative: Player will not cross the LOS to make a play. You'll quickly find that if you use pass or run rush conservative, your defensive linemen will spend most of the day lying on the field staring up at the sky. This isn't helpful in your efforts to stop opposing offenses.

Unlike defensive linemen, linebackers have success using conservative pursuit. When assigned conservative pursuit logic, the LBs and DBs will not charge the LOS, but will wait for the ball carrier to cross the LOS. On outside runs, LBs and DBs using conservative logic may be able to help string the play out toward the sidelines. Often, LBs and DBs are able to make the stop after only a short gain using this logic; however, they will almost never make a stop in the backfield or rush the passer on a pass play until they've stood around a while and had a good think.

Balanced: Player decides how aggressively to pursue. Balanced is the default if pursuit level is not specified. You run the risk of having players with balanced pursuit logic stand around and watch the play until it's past them.

Aggressive: Player heads straight to the ball, no matter where it is. I use aggressive logic almost exclusively for DL. It's the only way to reasonably assure that they'll pursue the guy with the ball. Since there's no reasonable way of making FBPro DL stay at home without getting trampled, I think it's best to use them to attack.

When given aggressive run defense logic, your LBs and DBs will make a beeline for the ball carrier--whoever that may be. Often that means they plunge into the LOS and engage a blocker. In fact, players playing aggressive ball are much more eager to engage blockers than those who play conservative. Also, LB and DBs playing aggressive run D from the middle of the field will usually wind up trailing behind the ball carrier on sweeps. But the potential is there for a 'backer playing aggressive run D to make a big stop in the backfield or to get the sack.

One caveat on using aggressive pursuit: FBPro players tend to take bad angles to the ball, making it relatively easy for decent offensive personnel to make impressive gains if the defensive personnel is coming from a long way away from the ball.

Blitz, Pass Rush and Run Defense

I haven't noticed much difference between playing run defense and blitzing (or pass rush for DL), so long as you specify whether you want the pursuit to be conservative, balanced or aggressive. The only meaningful difference I have to share is that the player will creep up on the LOS while waiting for the snap if they've been given blitz logic. Players playing standard run defense will just stand there until the ball is snapped.

Coverage is…

Conservative: Defender allows completion in order to make tackle. I don't like this much except in double man coverage. Then I'll occasionally use it along with the "shade deep" option to have one of the two defenders sitting back to make the tackle.

Balanced: Defender decides how best to defend play. Balanced is the default if coverage level is not specified, and typically I think it works just fine.

Aggressive: Defender likely to go for the knockdown or interception, at risk of missing the tackle. This would be a great idea, if only it worked. In truth, it's near impossible to seek to make interceptions. They're highly dependent on factors like talent level, QB arm strength or the timely arrival of a pass rusher just as the QB's releasing the ball. Still, hope springs eternal, so occasionally I'll use this in double coverage along with shade under logic or with spot zones in hopes of at least getting a knockdown.

Man-to-man:

Man-to man coverage is the bread-and-butter coverage in FBPro, but it can be ridiculously easy to beat when used alone. It takes a brave soul to play straight man coverage against a coach who can write credible passing plays. Luckily there are several ways of augmenting man defensive packages to make them better. Spice things up by playing mixes of man, zone and/or read. Or color the man-to-man coverage with bump-and run or shading.

Bump and run

Defenders playing bump-and-run coverage will run toward the receiver and make contact with him to try and destroy the timing of a play. This is helpful against some timing passes, and it can boost run support--particularly against the inside run--as defenders using man coverage without bump logic will tend to run away from the LOS while those with bump logic run toward the LOS. Receivers can have trouble getting open against bump coverage, forcing the QB to his second or third option.

On the down side, slower players using bump logic can get burned deep, and bumping tends to lead to defensive holding penalties, especially if it's a LB doing the bumping.

A little trick I sometimes employ is using a LB playing bump-and-run coverage against the FB (the second-fastest backfield player, generally). This isn't so great against screen passes, but it does provide some coverage on the FB, while giving you a LB who will essentially attack the LOS if the FB is a blocker. Against offenses that don't throw a lot of screens but use the FB to block, the LB becomes an extra pass rusher (or a body to plug the hole the FB's trying to open) for all intents and purposes, but he'll also provide some coverage if the FB is used as a receiver.

Shade under

Shading coverage under is aimed at denying the completion. In this style of coverage, the defender positions himeself between the QB and his receiver. It's possible to give up big plays using shade under, but I have been known to dabble in this style if I can be reasonably sure that a receiver will be running patterns in the flats. It's a good idea to have deep help if you plan to shade under, as knockdowns aren't easy to come by in FBPro.

Shade deep

Defenders playing coverage shaded deep do their best to stay between the receiver and the goal line. This makes receptions even easier than usual, but helps prevent the big play. Since you can be beaten just as handily by constantly giving up 10-yard chunks to pass completions as you can by allowing a long pass, I tend to avoid coverage that is shaded deep except in rare instances where it seems appropriate.

Assigning man coverage

Assigning coverage properly is the key to making sure you are really covering everyone you intend to. To this end, it's important not to mix coverage. For example, if you're assigning coverage by speed, don't have one player covering the eligible receiver with the best hands, as the player with the best hands may also be the fastest player and may be covered already. However, if you cover backfield SP1 and SP2 when the offense uses a single-back set, FBPro's AI is bright enough to assign the player defending backfield SP2 to the uncovered man. Thus, "backfield", "non-backfield" and "either" assignments can be mixed and matched as desired.

To guard against sweeps, I like to place a fast LB (or sure-tackling DB) in man-to-man coverage (no bump and run) against the halfback (usually the fastest backfield player) with conservative pursuit to keep him from racing across the LOS and losing the sprint to the sidelines. This tactic tends not to be especially effective against inside runs, as players in man coverage will run backwards if the player they're covering is running forward.

Double teaming

I've had no good luck in creating defenses that employ double teams in FBPro, but that doesn't stop me from trying to change my luck now and then. If you decide you'd like to try writing a play that double teams one or more receivers, make sure both defenders don't use the same logic. Give one of the two a bump or shade one under while the other shades deep. Put one on conservative coverage while the other plays aggressive coverage. You get the idea.

Zone:

There are two types of zone: regular zones and spot zones. In regular zone coverage, a defensive player guards an area of the field, paying attention to any offensive player who strays onto his turf. However, these types of zones are easy to clear out by assigning an offensive decoy to distract the defender from the real threat. To some extent this can be defeated by using "stop and wait" logic, though it takes careful timing not to have the defender wait too long while the play passes him by.

Another way the defense can keep zone defenders from being moved out of position is by using spot zones, in which the defender is responsible for only a tiny area of the field, as little as a single pixel in the play editor. Shrewd placement of spot zones can wreak havoc on timing passes, especially if the offense is predictable in the spots they like to throw to. Players in spot zones will do you no good if they're positioned away from the spot the offensive play is attacking.

A third way coaches keep their zone defenders from getting pulled out of position is to run a "thin" zone. A thin zone is shaped like a long horizontal or vertical line. Because the width is very thin, players have to be in a specific area to get the defender to react, but the area is larger than with a spot zone. Once the offensive player is out of the zone again, the defender is as likely as not to return to his zone, so additional support is needed to keep from getting burned deep when using this type of zone, as with spot zones.

Zone defenders of all sorts are slow to react. Zone is a particularly poor way to play the run because of this. While they may react to a pass while it's on the way to a receiver, zone defenders tend not to notice the run until a hefty gain has been cemented by the offense.

Read:

A DL trying to read a play is as useless as a DL playing conservative pursuit. That's all there is to it. You may as well give the guy an air mattress, because he's going to spend a lot of time flat on his back.

In contrast, DBs and LBs using read logic can be of excellent use, especially in defending the run. The read is whether to play pass coverage or defend the run, and levels of pursuit or coverage can be assigned. Defenders choosing to play coverage may eventually get bored if the play is slow in developing and decide to rush the passer instead. "Stop and wait" logic can help insure that players don't get out of position too early.

Players that read pass and drop into coverage (and this applies to DBs as well as LBs) tend to play deep in the secondary and play loose coverage, making pass plays easy pickings. Read-only coverage is typically not recommended in passing situations, though run support tends to be strong from players assigned read logic.

Players may read a play incorrectly. If you rely too heavily on read logic, this can result in big plays for the offense.

Stop and wait:

Stop and wait logic is mainly of use in making sure your players don't leave their spots too early. Some coaches use this logic with man-to-man coverage, although I haven't really liked the results I've gotten when trying that tactic. Jury's out to me. Stop and wait is invaluable for players in zones and reading. I've gotten nice results occassionally in delaying a blitzer, as well. Once the OL is engaged by the DL, the path to the QB can be much clearer.

Don't force your defenders to stop and wait until it's too late.

Move to:

To some extent, you can force your defenders to run to the spot where you want them using "move to" logic. This works in a similar way to stop and wait logic to some extent for defenders playing zone, especially spot zone, or read defense.

I like to use move to logic with the DL to create stunts (that is, having outside DL run inside and inside DL run outside) to help slow down the inside run. At the best of times, the offensive linemen tend to have a hard time knowing who to block on running plays, and stunts successfully confuse the issue further and clog the interior. Unfortunately, stunts have a tendency to render DL useless against the outside run. Stunts aren't necessarily a whole lot of help in the pass rush, but I don't see them as a hindrance either.

"Move to" logic can also be used to help contain the outside run by having your DL move to the outside first thing after the snap. It can also help the pass rush by organizing the way your defensive linemen attack the offensive line.

DL can be put into zone pass coverage using move to logic to get them into position, but they typically don't do a very good job in that role.

Creating defensive packages

Avoiding being one-dimensional

If you've read the section above, you'll already know that I point out weaknesses in every defensive strategy. These weaknesses mean that if you follow a single strategy too much, your defense will be easy to beat. Mixing techniques across the entirety of your defensive playbook is an instant way of making your defense harder to beat than if it is homogenous. Remember that just as you're looking for weaknesses in your opponents' favorite offensive tactics, your opponents are looking for weaknesses in your defensive scheme.

The blitz and aggressiveness on defense

Coaches who are new to FBPro tend to really like the blitz. I mean they really, really like the blitz. If you feel deep disappointment when you aren't the league leader in sacks, this may apply to you. The trouble is that just as in real football, you have to blitz smart in FBPro to avoid getting used by coaches with good offensive schemes. If you like to blitz a lot but find your players tend to arrive a step (or more) too late, you basically have three choices: Get better defensive players, write better blitzes or stop blitzing so much. Most coaches eventually settle on the latter. This is no reason to give up rushing the passer altogether, but it shows that subtlety helps in the pass rush.

Whether it's based on the blitz or not, defense needs to be aggressive to be effective. Even bend-but-don't-break defenses have to be aggressive enough to force the issue and make big plays now and then. This means finding ways of disrupting the offense. Ways of being aggressive on defense without blitzing include using plays with bump and run coverage or using fewer pass rushers but utilizing "move to" logic to help generate the pass rush. Fewer players can also generate a pass rush if positioned well. Fewer pass rushers should translate to better coverage than you get with the typical blitz.

In terms of creating a playbook, this means you may choose to select at least one play per category that utilizes bump-and-run coverage and at least one play per category that provides a big pass rush. The other two might be run stuffing-plays (it's worth noting that blitzes can often do a good job of stuffing the run, especially the inside run) or plays with strong coverage but weaker pass rushes. This, in my opinion, would create a defense that's more than aggressive enough.

Scouting

If there's a time to be one-dimensional on defense, it's when you face a team that's one-dimensional on offense. But you have to be able to tell how an opponent likes to attack. Knowing what you want to stop with a given defensive play is essential to actually stopping it. If you're facing a team that likes to hammer their halfbacks up the gut again and again, you had better identify a few plays that are capable of stopping the inside run and use them.

A simple two-step scouting system can be used against one-dimensional offenses:

1. Know what you need to stop.

2. Find plays that stop it.

If the offense is sophisticated, a third step is needed:

3. Know when to stop what

How do you know what you need to stop? Look at the logs or game film (in a league like NPL where everyone has all the plays, a look at the log will suffice unless you really want to watch game film). These will give you a look at what your opponent likes to do. Logs also address number three--when the offense likes to call certain types of plays.

How do you find (or write) plays that stop the ones your opponent likes to use? Log-reading programs like WinLogStats do a great job of breaking down information, but they don't sort out information as specific as whether a certain defense defends the inside run well as opposed to defending the outside run. The only sure way to tell is to fire up the play editor and test it out. Again, this is made easier in NPL, where you can load up the actual plays in question to run your tests.

Once you've found your plays, set up playcalling in the PPP editor to make sure the right things get called at the right time. I tend not to overplan my defensive playcalling except when facing the most predictable coaches. Good coaches tend to mix it up on offense, so I don't want to specialize my defensive playcalling too greatly.

However, sometimes coaches have tells. One opponent I played in XFL ran outside virtually 100% of the time on first down when he was tied or behind This made defending his offenses easy. Be aware that you may have similar defensive tells if you make your playcalling too specialized or leave the same playcalling in place for too long.

Eliminate plays that don't work

Eliminate plays that don't work. Scout yourself and separate the wheat from the chaff. It's that simple. But coaches can get attached to plays that don't work. Sometimes in FBPro, it really seems like a play should work. I've designed many plays that I thought were really clever, and they were. They just didn't happen to work. I love those plays for their cleverness, but I have to dump them fast if I want to win. When you have only the minimum number of plays in a defensive playbook (as I suspect many coaches do and as I often do), having one bad play can really weaken the defensive package as a whole. If you use tons of plays, you may be able to cut back on the number, targeting the cuts for categories that haven't been effective.

A caveat to dumping plays: What works against one thing may not work against another. Likewise, a play that got burned badly against one type of offense may be a gem at stopping a different kind of offense. There's a difference between a play that got beaten by a good offensive counter and a play that just doesn't work well.

Conclusion

Now you should be armed with the fundamentals for custom play and playbook design for defense. The best plays come from a mix of solid fundamentals and creativity--doing something the offense hasn't planned on.

When designing a defense, remember that just as every defense has weaknesses, so does every offense. When you play good coaches you have to prepare to find the offense's weaknesses, whether you want to be a counterpuncher stalemating the offense or you expect your attacking D to dictate terms of surrender to the offense.